Crabbers hit pick-six

Sometimes, statistics tell the story. And sometimes, you look at them and say, "No way those are right."

Thursday night at Darling Stadium, Warwick outgained Hampton 285-140 in total yards and had nine more first downs. The Raiders ran 67 offensive plays, the Crabbers 32.

But as any coach will tell you, the only numbers that truly matter can be found on the scoreboard. And there it read: Hampton 14, Warwick 7.

"Hey, someone once said a win is a win is a win," said Crabbers coach Mike Smith, who gained his 399th victory. "And I never expected anything else."

With Tron Martinez in for only a handful of plays because of a shoulder injury, Hampton (9-1, 8-1 Peninsula District) never found any offensive rhythm. The Crabbers had only 11 snaps in the first half yet still led 14-7, thanks to a 95-yard interception return by Dion Futch.

"They made a big play in the first half," Warwick coach Stan Sexton said, "and that basically was the difference in the ballgame."

Four times the Raiders (6-4, 5-4) drove inside the Hampton 25-yard line but failed to score. Twice Lamonte' Williams was intercepted. Once a field-goal try was blocked, and once — on its final possession of the game — Warwick was stopped on fourth-and-9.

"The defense stepped up, and that's what we had to do," Crabbers linebacker Sterling Perry said. "The offense couldn't get clicking, so we had to hold it down."

Though it came late in the first quarter, Futch made the biggest play of the night. Warwick had a fourth-and-14 at the Hampton 24 when Williams tried to hit 6-foot-4 receiver Lemont Lewis. But he overthrew him, and Futch intercepted the pass in stride at the 5-yard line.

One of the fastest players on the team, if not the district, Futch hit the left sideline and was never touched.

"I knew he was taking that one back," Perry said.

Warwick came back with a 10-play, 68-yard drive and took a 7-6 lead on Williams' sneak with 8:25 left in the half. The Crabbers responded with their only scoring drive of the night, which quarterback David Watford capped with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Andy Allison. The two-point conversion made it 14-7.

After that, the Crabbers were never able to put the game away. And the Raiders were never able to force the tie.

"My hat's off to the kids," Sexton said. "They kept playing hard, and just one play on our end could have been the difference in the game."

In winning its 44th straight game in this series, Hampton clearly missed Martinez, the district's top rusher. He came in for maybe three or four plays but never touched the ball.

"He probably could have played (more), but we're not going to do that," Smith said. "He could have played, and he wanted to play, but I didn't want to take a chance. The trainer said he has a bruise, but we didn't want to take a chance. No game is worth that."

Hampton already had secured a playoff bid and will open in Eastern Region Division 5 at Todd Stadium next Friday night. Warwick now needs outside help across the water to make the eight-team D-5 field.